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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24544579">Candy</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisond_flower/pseuds/poisond_flower'>poisond_flower</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:34:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,544</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24544579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/poisond_flower/pseuds/poisond_flower</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Candy and Spike have known each other since they were human. They have recently relocated to Sunnydale. What will happen when they meet the slayer and get used to life on the Hellmouth? Spike/OC. Starts Season 2.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Angel/Buffy Summers, Spike (BtVS)/Original Female Character(s), Spike (btvs)/OC, Spike (btvs)/OFC</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>26</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter One</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>A/N: This is a rewrite starting from Season 2. Drusilla was about at some point but Spike is in love with Candy. I wanted to write someone different. She is from the same time-period as him, but she had kept a little more tradition. I'm not sure if I'll carry on with this, but feedback is welcome. Thanks xoxo</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Chapter One:</span>
</p><p>She stalked through the graveyard, her movements were cat-like as she weaved through the plots, careful not to step on any of the graves. She prowled past the dusty old mausoleums and crouched behind a headstone, listening to the sounds of the night. She was trying to hear for any sign of life, a heartbeat or a sudden intake of breath. Her senses were heightened, and she was scoping the area out so that she could hunt. Her green eyes scanned the area once more before she moved on from where she had hidden, continuing through the graveyard. She bowed every so often in respect of those that lay beneath her before walking on to find somewhere with a larger population to choose from.</p><p>She had stalked through the streets she now called her home, they were teaming with demons of all kinds. She wondered why she had found herself on another Hellmouth. She knew why, of course. They had come for a rest, they had been in England but they had gotten a reputation in London that was near impossible to escape. She sighed slightly at this, she had enjoyed London and wished that she could have stayed for another couple of decades. She knew that he had heard news of a slayer on the loose, that's the real reason they had come. She had never been to California before and the strange land was taking her some time to get used to. She heard something then and tensed as the footprints came at a steady pace. No beating. Demon, she decided. She usually made sure she kept away from demons apart from the ones she was used to. She swung around and stood up quickly, a defensive stance already maintained but she quickly relaxed when she realised who was stalking after her through the graveyard, not caring where he stepped, he only wanted to get to her.</p><p>"Candy?" He called, making sure that was her, "Candy, love, please come back inside. It's almost the witching hour and you always stay inside for that" He pleaded as he got closer to her, his blue eyes scanned her face for a sign of her mood.</p><p>"Maybe I want the witches to take me. L'heure du crime shall take me to someone who loves me more than his precious Slayer" She made a hand movement as if to shoo him away, and he took her wrist and pulled her to him. She took his hand and started to dance slowly in the middle of the graveyard. Her eyes were closed, and she had a smile on her lips. She had her Spike alone for the first time in a while.</p><p>"Kitten, stop it. You know I'll only have eyes for you. For centuries more at least" Spike convinced her, joking at the end as he noticed she wasn't actually in a mood with him. She stopped her dancing at his words. She looked up at him slowly, unsure of how to word how she felt about their most recent move. It was in her nature to change her mind with the direction of the wind, but she wasn't ready to leave England at the time.</p><p>"I know, but the minions are tiresome and some smell as if they were freshly dug from the ground. We're vampires, sure, but may we have some decency and hygiene in our ranks?" She complained and pouted slightly. The vampires they had been staying in weren't pleasant creatures and a lot of them were not particularly bright either. She had tried to hold a conversation with one, but he had just stared at her chest the whole time, that was, until Spike had taken his head.</p><p>"I can't make them wash. Just stay on the far side away from them. Won't be forever" He shrugged; he hadn't given it much thought. They were only minions, after all.</p><p>"I don't wish to be side lined. I can smell them no matter where I go" She complained, revealing a small wishbone from her pocket and linking her pinkie finger to one side, "Do you trust me, love of mine?" She gestured for him to take the other side. He had always humoured her with her superstitions, and she smiled as he moved to fulfil her silent request.</p><p>"With all of my cold, dead heart" He reached his pinkie finger to link around the other side of the wishbone and pulled when she did. She received the larger side, which meant that she got the wish. She spoke it out loud to him.</p><p>"Kill the anointed one. He does not serve a real purpose and his tiny frame makes me uncomfortable. He looks like the page boy we ate at our wedding" She screwed her eyes up briefly while she spoke. Her winning half still in her hands as she started to snake her arms around his waist and rest her head on his chest. Spike had thrown his half into the graveyard and moved his arms protectively around her, slowly pulling her hood down to reveal a mass of bubble gum pink coloured hair. He had always loved her hair, the colour and style had changed with each decade but she seemed to have taken to this colour as it had lasted longer than the others. He enjoyed having her like this, in his arms and he smelt her hair as she stood there, leaning against him. Living with her was what kept him going, it was never boring. Her mind changed often, and she had phases of being utterly obsessed with things before dropping them just as quickly. Luckily, she had fallen in love deeply and hadn't left his side since their first wedding over a century ago. Although, it was always a worry for him that something would come between them and take her away.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>Candy was lying on their king-sized bed. She had decorated their room to make it feel more like her own, she didn't enjoy hiding in dank rooms like some kind of demon. She had found some throws and scatter cushions, that Spike had detested but let her arrange them the way she had anyway. The room was a dusty lilac with grey tones that she had arranged so that Spike wouldn't refuse to sleep in it with her. She had wanted pastel pink and powder blues as well, but she knew she would be pushing it even though Spike had told her she could decorate any way she liked. There were the usual things such as chains and hooks around the room that she didn't have the heart to get rid of, Spike had always enjoyed a darker aesthetic, so she kept them around. Plus, they might come in useful later on anyway. She was thinking about the sun, the way she missed the warm rays delicately caressing her face as she would sit and bathe in the light on summer days. Spike had always worried about the way she missed it and had tried his best to make her more comfortable. He had suggested that she tried moon-bathing and he had showered him in soft kisses. Since he had mentioned that they had made a habit of bathing in the light of the moon together. Spike had enjoyed the way she seemed to glow in the moonlight, her pale skin a reflection of the light of the moon itself. She thought fondly to the conversation they had during one of the nights they had bathed beneath the moon. She had just changed her name again and Spike was struggling to be supportive.</p><p>
  <em>It was 1971 and the pair were in Paris, moon-bathing from the balcony of their penthouse suite. Candy had suggested they took a break from their hunt and took solace in the light of the moon. They had placed beach towels they had found on the floor, one had palm trees and the other a smiling sun with sunglasses. They could hear busy traffic and people still walking around. Candy had always enjoyed the sounds of the city. Spike was lying on his back and Candy was lying on her side, close to him. Spike had his arms wrapped around her, and he was absentmindedly stroking her arm as he thought about what candy had just told him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Love, that's a stripper's name" He tried to choose his words carefully, his lover had always changed her mind about her tastes and identity every decade or so and he loved her for it, but he was struggling to keep up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I like it, Spike. Do you think that I couldn't work the pole?" She smiled slightly at his implication, she no longer had time for the rules of her day and wanted to do everything she could to prove to herself she had left that life in the past. She adjusted her weight onto him as she rested her head on his chest, her pink fingernails stroking his stomach in thought.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Sweet, you would be the most effervescent angel up there. Doesn't mean you need to call yourself Candy"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Maybe I could spell it with an I, it would be cuter. Candi" She suggested with a smile, although Spike's expression made her reconsider the spelling choice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Kitten, I'm not bloody calling you that" He stated, sounding irritated now. Candy stopped stroking him and lifted herself to look at his face. Her face shifted in anger, but she worked hard to shift it back and collect herself before speaking.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Then call me nothing, William" She replied shortly. She got up to walk back into the apartment and Spike lit up a cigarette. He rolled his eyes, he knew she had a point. She had started calling him Spike the day he had changed it. Even when Angelus had refused to address him as such for months.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I'm only saying the other name is beautiful, like you pet" He conceded, following her inside and taking a long drag as he tried to figure out how to get back on her good side. He would hate to be without her for even a night, he had been in love with her for so long. She turned to face him and managed a smile, she liked the frown he had when he was trying to figure out the right words to use. He used to pull that slight frown when he considered his word choice for the poetry he would write. She had adored his poetry and had encouraged him to continue with it, although his attention had been on other things in recent decades.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Flattery will get you nowhere with me, love of mine" She smiled and took the cigarette out of his hands and took a drag before throwing the end onto the balcony. She tip toed to kiss him slowly. Spike started to kiss her more passionately and she matched him easily. They had a passion that couldn't die, despite the life being gone in their own hearts. Their love burned strong and they could never stay angry or irritated at each other for long.</em>
</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>"Kitten?" he asked into the darkness, he had brought her a snack because she had been in a rage earlier as she had received some bad luck. He had tried to calm her down, but she had thrown her untied shoe at him before hiding under the bed covers. He had cursed her but felt guilty as soon as he left the building and decided to bring her something back as an apology. Candy had stayed where she had hidden under the covers, as if it would shield her from the bad luck she had received. When she had heard Spike enter and smelt fresh blood she started to stir and sit up in the bed. Her hair was wild, but still managed to make her look attractive and her eyes were glassy as if she had been crying recently. She was wearing a lacy lilac negligée that showed a lot of skin and spike smirked as he looked over her body, she enjoyed his gaze on her but she snapped out of it when she realised the man he had brought back was also enjoying the view. She took a matching lilac silk robe and wrapped it around herself, with a glare towards the man for looking.</p><p>"Love, why were you playing target practice at my sodding head with your unlaced shoes?"</p><p>"My shoelace had untied as I was walking!" She exclaimed, as if this was supposed to mean something to Spike. He just sat on the bed and waited for her to explain, trying not to ask what the hell she thought she was doing throwing things at him when he had only offered to take her out for a bite. "Spike, sweet Spike" She shook her head at him, "Shoelace untied as you walk is bad luck, you must throw the shoe at the one whom you wish well to turn the luck"</p><p>"What a crock of shit" The man in the corner, his neck leaking red liquid, muttered as she spoke. Both Spike and Candy turned to glare at him, before ignoring him as Spike reached for his love's hand and stroked it softly with his thumb.</p><p>"You wish me well?" Candy simply nodded as if it was obvious. Spike had trouble keeping track of all the superstitions that she was so well-versed in and struggled to be good tempered when something like that happened. When she calmed down and talked to him though, it was often rooted in good intentions. "You gotta warn a man when you're throwing shoes at him, even for good luck" He explained and she nodded, although he knew something like this would come up again. It always did with her, but he wouldn't have it any other way. He left a kiss in the middle of her forehead as he stood and roughly grabbed the man he had brought back for Candy. He passed him to her and she smiled at Spike lovingly, before turning to the man that had insulted her earlier.</p><p>"Hey, lady. It's-it's bad luck to kill a man too, you know" He blurted out and Candy could smell fear on him.</p><p>"No, that's just a sin. I do not believe in the commandments. A man wrote them, and I find they often lie to get their own way" She smiled sweetly at her victim. Spike softly put his hands through her pink hair as he watched the way she turned on the man, he had always enjoyed watching her play with her food.</p><p>"No- no I mean it. Kill a man on a Tuesday and-and die the next day" He stumbled over his words, desperation pouring off him as he didn't want to die. Spike scoffed at the man as he walked towards the door and left her to it, he had to go and have a chat with the Anointed one. Candy seemed to loosen her grip slightly, she straightened up and thought about this for a moment. She leaned in close to the man, so her lips were close to his ear.</p><p>"Crock of shit" She slowly whispered, enunciating each word. This sent shivers down the man's spine and he whimpered as she changed into her game face.</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>xoxoxo</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Buffy was waiting for Xander and Willow outside of the Bronze when she noticed a woman with a lilac dress that didn't match the alley she was walking through. It was lacy and the neckline was low and showed her cleavage and the skirt of the dress was long and flowed around her. She held herself upright, with an incredible posture and her hair was a shocking pink that Buffy couldn't stop staring at. The woman appeared to be hopping along the pavement and looked down with great care as she walked towards the Bronze.</p><p>Her eyes were a bright green that Buffy had never seen in a human before. Better check on that, Buffy decided to strike up a conversation with the woman that seemed to be slowly making her way over to her anyway.</p><p>"What are you doing?"</p><p>"Cracks. Must avoid the cracks" She pointed to the crack in the sidewalk that she had just carefully walked over to emphasise her point.</p><p>"Solid advice, but again why?"</p><p>"Breaks your mother's back. Mine's dead, of course, and good riddance bless her rotten soul. But I know better than to upset the luck out of my favour, can't let the demons in"</p><p>"And you think that will work, believe me, you'll need to do more than avoid the cracks in this town"</p><p>"The Slayer?"</p><p>"The vampire, I assume"</p><p>"I do not wish to fight, I just wanted to see you. Spike's been speaking so much about you, I wanted to see you myself"</p><p>"Spike?" Buffy asked, she had met him at her parent-teacher night a few weeks ago.</p><p>"Yes, my lover neglected to mention me, didn't he? Always does that when he's on the hunt. His mind's focused like that" She seemed to think of Spike dreamily as she explained this, pointing to her own head when she mentioned his focus.</p><p>"I'll make my own introductions then, I'm Candy" She held out a porcelain hand for buffy to shake, her nails were the same shocking pink as her hair and they looked very sharp. Buffy just stared from her hand to her face and crossed her arms over her chest, "Your hair smells incredible, how often do you condition it?"</p><p>Candy reached over to touch Buffy's hair when she didn't meet her hand, but that was the last straw. Buffy knocked her hand away and started with an offensive stance. Candy merely stood there and waited, as if she was casually waiting for a bus at the stop to roll in. Buffy threw her first punch and Candy easily blocked it, almost yawning at the fight as Buffy started throwing punches with more force. Candy blocked most of them</p><p>"You don't survive this long without learning to be useful in a fight" candy smiled, hoping for some kind of praise from the slayer.</p><p>"You don't survive this long" Buffy quipped, about to plunge a stake into Candy's heart. Candy's eyes bulged at the sight and quickly did what she always did when things got sticky. Buffy had merely blinked and Candy had disappeared. She looked down to see if she had been dusted and saw a cat on the floor, the cat was the whitest white Buffy had ever seen, the cat was pure white and had bright green eyes. The cat hissed at Buffy before rushing off and back to wherever it came from.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Chapter Two:</span>
</p><p>It was after-hours in the Sunnydale High library. Giles, Buffy, Will, Xander where researching a vampire called Candy. Cordelia was there too but she was mostly filing her nails and complaining.</p><p>"So, she called herself Candy? Do we think she could really be one with the threatening?"</p><p>"Uh, I believe I have seen a lover of Spike's mentioned in one of the volumes, but it wasn't a Candy"</p><p>"Well, she spoke about him as if she knew him well and then she sort of ran off and turned into a cat"</p><p>"A cat? Aww, cute" Willow whispered.</p><p>"Not cute, still a blood sucking vampire" Buffy maintained, something about her rubbed her up the wrong way and not just because she seemed obsessively in love with Spike. She appeared to melt when she spoke of him.</p><p>"But… kitty cat" Willow said softly, avoiding Buffy's hard look.</p><p>"The cat was pure white, isn't that like cheating? Shouldn't she be black?" Buffy asked, practicing some moves with the weapon in hand as she had gotten tired of reading.</p><p>"Oh, ah, here we go. Spike sired her in the 1890s, she has had many names over the years and her most recent seems to be Candy. Her given name was Marissa, but she has been widely known as Medea throughout the western hemisphere"</p><p>"And after all of that, she chose Candy? Tack-<em>y</em>" Cordelia piped up, flipping through a dusty book in boredom.</p><p>"She's harmless" Angel said, having popped up from nowhere. They all looked at him with a frown, this woman was definitely not harmless and she was with Spike. "Uh, okay not completely. But I know her, if she says she didn't want to hurt you then she doesn't"</p><p>"And we're taking her word for it because vampires are known for their honesty?"</p><p>"She's not interested in killing you. She's not all there, she usually supports Spike but if she's saying that she doesn't want to hurt you then she won't" Angel spoke with such conviction, it was hard for the others to ignore. It was as if he knew her intimately.</p><p>"But if she's killing on my patch then she's a threat" Buffy concluded, "I'd better go – I need to pick up the foreign exchange student. Will you be at the Bronze later, Angel-?" she looked up but Angel had already left as quickly as he appeared.</p><p>"Someone has to get that guy a bell" Xander muttered as they all made their way out of the library.</p><p>Meanwhile, Spike and Candy where in their shared room. Spike was psyching himself up to kill the Anointed one. Candy quickly brushed through her hair before holding up another dress in front of her.</p><p>"Love, you don't have to come up stairs if you don't want" Spike said, slightly distracted as he smirked, watching her strip down and slip another dress on. She wasn't shy in front of him, her body was her own but she would happily give it to him. She would give him anything.</p><p>"Of course I want to, I just need to find the perfect dress, my sweet" she said, moving around in her dress and trying to make sure it was perfect.</p><p>"But we've been here for an hour, kitten, and every outfit you've put on has looked exactly the bloody same" Spike grumbled, he was ready to confront them and get it over with.</p><p>"Sorry, love, we can go now" She said, "Oh – wait!" She knocked on every wooden object she could find "For luck" She whispered, before kissing his cheek. He grinned, grabbing her hand and pulling her with him up the stairs.</p><p>He made quick work of killing the anointed one as Candy giggled and clapped. He shoved him in a cage and pulled him up into the sunlight. They were met by some annoyance but managed to fight those that challenged them together. Candy had learned her fighting-style from Spike, she was graceful with it and they fought together as if it were a choreographed dance.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>Candy had been sorting through her recent shopping haul, she had eaten the shop-clerk when she told Candy that she probably wouldn't fit in any of the sizes that they stocked in-store. She did and she had taken it all free. Candy didn't stand for disrespect and thought nothing of painting the walls of the shop with the woman's insides, ensuring to save the pretty clothes from any blood-damage. She was going to do a fashion show for Spike later, he always loved to see her in her new clothes. He also loved taking them off her too, and she had found some beautiful lingerie in the hopes that he would notice during the fashion show.</p><p>She was humming an old-English tune as she turned to put away another ensemble she had planned for later, but stopped dead the silk slipping from her hands and spooling at her feet.</p><p>"A-angelus?" She averted her gaze, unsure what to do. She was a good fighter but she knew better than to get on the wrong side of him. She could call for spike, but there may not be enough time.</p><p>"Med- Uh, Candy" He nodded his head in respect of the woman he hadn't seen in decades. She noticed his manner wasn't one that Angelus would usually adopt and she visibly relaxed.</p><p>"I already laid the salt around my home, I should have known no devil should be able to enter"</p><p>"Uh, yeah. Apart from we're all demons"</p><p>"Ah, but it is about the intentions, my cherub" Candy walked up to Angel and held his hand, a friendly gesture.</p><p>"What the bloody hell is he doing here" Spike said from the doorway, having sensed a change in Candy's mood. She had stopped humming which usually meant she wasn't doing well. The last thing she needed was to be face-to-face with him.</p><p>"I believe he wishes to plead mercy for the slayer. He has her scent on him as a perfume. She smells like flowers in the rain. Do you know what products she uses?"</p><p>"No bloody way, mate" spike snapped, "She's as good as dead already"</p><p>"My love has always had his eyes set on the hunt, the slayer and the vampire will always be enemies Angelus" Candy explained softly.</p><p>"It's just Angel now, Candy"</p><p>"I prefer it. You glow like a saint, the errors of the past have dissipated. You will never lose your chains, but the world has gained a hero. Take this. It's for luck" She handed him a rabbits foot attached to some string so it could be hung up. Angel looked at the small foot in his hands and then back to Candy's enthusiastic smile, as if she had just gifted him the world in his hands. He thanked her quietly and pocketed it. Spike watched the exchange with a look of furious anger that he couldn't hide.</p><p>"Love, we don't give presents to tossers that have barged in uninvited" He held her arm firmly, stroking her cheek as he tried to pull her away from Angel, he wanted to keep the two as far away as possible. She stood firm though and gave Spike a look to tell him not to be rude and Spike removed his hand from her arm. He wouldn't move from her side though.</p><p>"He took me in, Spike. When I was nothing but a house maid" She reminded him solemnly and Angel winced at the memory.</p><p>"He bloody tortured you!" Spike reminded her, his anger still not settled from the years of looking after his eternal love after everything Angelus had done to her.</p><p>"Water under the bridge, my sweet Spike" She shrugged and smiled at Angel. Her smile was real, although Spike knew she was mostly just being kind, he still had to calm her down from the panic she caught herself in when she thought about everything that had happened. Angel seemed to be able to tell she was being kind as well, it was a quality he had tried to take from her when he had been evil and he was glad she still had it. Spike was scowling at Angel and he knew then he had better leave. He could take Spike on, but he knew if he started on Spike that Candy wouldn't be able to sit back and watch her love taken from her.</p><p>It was late afternoon and Spike had just come back from ordering the remaining flunkies around. He was in charge now, and all of the planning had to go through him. Candy had been happily arranging her shoes in colour-order in her new wardrobe. Spike had told her she didn't have to face the minions and their horrible smells if she didn't want to and she didn't. Besides, she wasn't really bothered about killing Buffy, just cheer leading for Spike when he did and perhaps drinking the spoils together. Slayer blood was an aphrodisiac after all. As she thought of him happily, he came stalking into the room, jumping away from the cabinet that was dripping wax with as many candles as could physically fit on the top.</p><p>"Will you bloody move these candles, Candy" Spike muttered, having almost set his leather duster alight as he walked into the room. He patted it down before reaching to pull her in for a kiss and then launching himself onto the bed.</p><p>"They keep the demons at bay, love. I need as many as I can to repel the forces" She maintained with a small smile.</p><p>"It looks like a chapel of sodding rest" He grumbled half-heartedly.</p><p>"Then let us rest comfortably, my love" She smiled, but still went around the room to blow out most of the candles before joining him in bed. She wanted him to be comfortable, and forfeiting some candles was okay with her.</p><p>They held each other, their bodies entwined as one. Spike held her, silently thanking the fates for keeping them together for so long. He didn't know what he would do without her. He had been smitten with her from the day they met. She had a soft nature, but when threatened he knew she was ready to fight. And if anyone ever disrespected either of them, they might as well dig their own grave because they wouldn't be lasting long.</p><p>"Do you know what I'm thinking, spike?" she asked after a comfortable silence.</p><p>"Go on, pet"</p><p>"I'm thinking that my love for you is stronger than the forces of evil. That when we do die together, I mean truly die this time, our souls will be bound in the ether"</p><p>"Maybe they already are" he offered, not trying to get into another argument about how they were already evil. For some reason, she wasn't a fan of the word.</p><p>"Definitely!" she smiled, pressing such gentle kisses it was as if a feather were grazing his neck. She pressed each kiss with feeling, every gentle brush a sonnet of her affection. She loved this man, she truly did. He was the one person that could ground her, that loved her without ulterior motive. True love that wouldn't come again in their un-lifetime.</p><p>"Do you really forgive him, love?" He asked, on his side and stroking a hand through her soft pink hair.</p><p>"Who? The human that we ate for cat-calling me? No, I only told him that so we could lure him to the alley and eat him" she smiled brightly, landing a kiss on his lips.</p><p>"No, pet, I understood that. It was a brilliant plot, you're a cunning temptress if ever there was" She giggled softly at such a compliment before spike carried on, his face becoming more serious again, "I mean with Angelus. Your mind was so addled with what he did to you as a human, how can you forget?"</p><p>"I don't" She said sadly, "But I choose to forgive. He's a changed one, he feels bad"</p><p>"You know what would make him feel worse? Driving a massive wooden fence post through his chest" he muttered, both condemning and loving her nature.</p><p>"Maybe if he ever tries to touch me again, you may do that" she pondered. <em>Maybe I shall do it myself,</em> she let herself daydream of how it may feel in her head.</p><p>"I'll take you at your word" he noticed her mind had started to wonder, her eyes were wild as if it had only just happened. As if it was the moment he had just taken her away from all of that, "You're too good for this place, pet. Why don't we find you someone to torture for a while? Make you feel better?"</p><p>She got up and nodded excitedly as he smirked, twirling her around before pulling her to the exit.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>Spike was busy planning the best way to confront the slayer and lure her into his new plan to kill her. Candy had gone away, having eaten the person that she had tortured. For some reason she enjoyed torturing people that looked like angel. Spike had watched for a while, knowing she enjoyed the praise he laid on her for creative techniques but eventually he had to tear himself away to get to business. The business, of course, being killing the slayer.</p><p>Meanwhile, there was a knock on the door of the Summer's house and Joyce, who was the only one in, went to open the door. The visitor had a thick baby blue cloak that she removed when the door opened to reveal bubblegum pink hair and a winning smile.</p><p>"Hello, my name's Candy. May I enter your beautiful home?"</p><p>"Um, do I know you?"</p><p>"Yes, I am a friend of Buffy's. We have mathematics in the same classroom" She silently apologised for the lie she told. She knew it wasn't right to lie, but Spike had always encouraged her that it was okay so long as she was doing it for survival, as long as she was allowing them to get the upper hand on their enemies. She trusted Spike, so she tried her best.</p><p>"Oh, of course. Come in, honey. I like your hair, it's very… bright"</p><p>"Thank you, most people enjoy it" Candy ran her pale hands through her long, pink hair and smiled at the compliment. She stepped into the home and looked around in wonder, it was cosy and Candy looked around in wonder as she walked through to the kitchen behind Joyce.</p><p>"You have a lovely home, ma'am"</p><p>"It's Joyce, honey, would you like some coco?" stared blankly, trying to recall what coco was. She had definitely heard the name before but could not quite recall it, she nodded anyway.</p><p>"Oh, yes please Ms. Joyce, that would be nice" She smiled sweetly, trying to remember every tiny detail about the house. One day, she hoped to settle down with Spike, find a large house like this and live in domestic bliss, "May I use your restroom?" Joyce nodded, explaining that Buffy shouldn't be too long. Candy weaved up to Buffy's room, taking in everything she could. She softly touched her jewellery – hissing as she ran her hand along a cross by accident. She sprayed some perfume on her wrist, inhaling and smiling. She tried to find the box it came in, for a name but had no luck. She took a scrunchie and looped her hair into a long, flowing ponytail.</p><p>She skipped back downstairs and sat with Joyce for a while, they spoke about art. Candy was suspiciously well-versed in fashion and art from decades ago, and Joyce thought she was wonderful.</p><p>"Buffy!" Candy smiled, as the Slayer entered, waving excitedly almost knocking her mug over as she did.</p><p>"Mom, get behind me! Get out of my house you psycho!" Buffy shouted as Joyce looked confused.</p><p>"Buffy please I merely wanted to meet your family… and find out what perfume you use"</p><p>"Why do you want to- you know what, I don't even want to know" Buffy decided, "Get. Out." She warned.</p><p>"I meant no harm, it's just when Angel came to-" Candy stopped herself, as she saw Buffy's angry look and remembered that Angel wouldn't want her to say anything, "No, nothing. I shall go, but only because I have decided that the sincere shop clerk at the perfume counter will probably be kinder. Good night, Mrs Summers. Thank you for your hospitality, Spike will really enjoy this cake" She showed that she was taking the cake tin with her, bowed her head slightly out of respect and walked out of the house through the back door. Her long gown trailed behind her as she glided across the grass and went to find herself a bite to eat.</p><p>She found herself a recently homeless teenager, the trick was to find one that still had enough life left in them that she could take and enjoy the experience. She had offered him a piece of cake and watched him eat it before she had her own meal. She told herself she was doing him a favour; she had spent some time on the streets in England and they had been horrible to try to survive in. There was a lot of illness and the streets were unsanitary. Plus, she's got to eat.</p><p>"Ouch!" She whined, she had bitten her tongue whilst she was feeding. Her fangs had dug into her own tongue and she winced as she opened her jaw to remove them. She cursed herself for lying to Mrs Summers as she believed that this was her punishment for her white lie. <em>My tongue with lies will burn!</em> She replayed the words that she had heard when she was human and it had been ingrained into her since she was a young girl. Her family had been obsessed with the devil's influence on their children and had given them the teaching of the Lord along with the superstitions to ward away the devil. Candy had never deviated from her beliefs despite her now being a demon and had always kept her focus on these superstitions. She had long since given up on the Bible, she couldn't even touch it if she wanted to. And she didn't want to.</p><p>When he was cold, no longer any blood in his veins, she closed his eyes and placed two pennies – one over each eye. This was so that his eyes remained closed and he could pass peacefully, it made Candy feel better at any rate. Not that she was necessarily guilty for killing.</p><p>"Cake?" She offered with a smile as she walked back into their home, opening the tin as Spike grabbed for some.</p><p>"Where did you bag this?" he said through a mouthful as she set the tin down.</p><p>"Now, don't get annoyed… I went to find the Slayer and I met her mother. A kind mother she has too, no idea of the vampires that walk among her – we may be able to use such knowledge, when you think of it" she babbled, knowing Spike wouldn't like that she put herself in danger over asking about perfume.</p><p>"Why were you there really, pet? Be honest with me, love… lying's bad luck aint it?"</p><p>"I wouldn't lie to you anyway, I have already bitten my tongue tonight for lying to the kindly mother! I pretended that I was a school child and she believed me"</p><p>"We already spoke of this, love, lying for survival is necessary… now tell me why you went" He moved, pulling her into him by her hips. He ran his hands up her body, sliding up the side of her face an then running through her bright pink hair as she started to explain. Their eyes didn't move from each other as he cupped her cheeks.</p><p>"Um, I went to find out what perfume she uses and instead the woman offered me cake and this really lovely drink she named 'coco' we must get one. It comes in powder form and-"</p><p>"I know what coco is, pet-"</p><p>"Then how come I don't?"</p><p>"You tend to have your head in the clouds at times, not that that's a bad thing… if you want coco, we'll get you some. Hell, I'll send one of the lackies out now" he offered.</p><p>"Really?! And, oh, some fresh blood to mix with it! The woman used milk but I think blood would be much more appealing – especially warm!" he nodded, a smile playing on his lips at her excitable nature.</p><p>"Now we're talking! We'll even get a woodfire going, make it a proper day-in" He smiled, a soft smile he only let her see. She giggled as he picked her up and twirled her around, in her lilac shift dress, laying her out on the bed. He moved over her, a knee between her legs as he smiled down on her. She closed her eyes, a smile on her face as she excitedly waited. Anticipation made her peek and catch his eye. The loving gaze appearing to darken as she giggled at him. Today was going to be a good day.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter three</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">
    <em>Chapter three:</em>
  </span>
</p><p>Candy and Spike were in their lair, Candy was staring into the full-length mirror. She was watching the room behind her as she started to shiver.</p><p>"I am so cold, Spike…" Candy sighed, hugging her arms around herself. She watched the room as Spike came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her.</p><p>"Love, we're always cold. We're dead"</p><p>"No! They are doing it again. People are stepping over my grave. Why can't our graves be closer so I can bite the ones that dare step over my resting place" For the most part, Candy only ate because she needed it. She enjoyed the hunt, she was a vampire after all, but the only time she really ever started to get cruel was if someone disrespected her. Or Spike. There were strict codes of their time and politeness was held above all.</p><p>"Your resting place is here with me" He said firmly, holding her to him.</p><p>"And a pretty resting spot it is too!" She smiled, peeling one of Spike's hand from her middle and pressed a soft kiss to the back of his hand. Spike pressed a kiss to her cheek, wrapping his arms around her as if he could protect her from everything. From her past, from the future. He just wanted to stay in this moment, wrapped around each other. Candy moved her hands to rest over his strong arms.</p><p>Later, after they were clear of the witching hour, Candy cut through the front yard, leaping onto a window ledge and passing through the cracked window. She prowled, out of sight, to give her a better vantage point. Even as a cat she never stepped on the cracks.</p><p>
  <em>There had been many phases throughout Candy's unlife. She had been into witchcraft and virgin sacrifices for a while in the early 1900s then there was the pop-art inspired luxury handbag line she had created and successfully marketed in the late-80s. All the most fashionable demons had one.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Through it all, there was something she possessed that held great pride. And it was something that had come about through something upsetting. It meant that she could shift into a different form. She had met a witch-doctor for an ailment. Looking for a cure that would rid her of her horrible day-mares of torture and horror (courtesy of Angelus).</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Who are you child, speak your name and you shall receive what you seek"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Medea"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Your given name" he corrected, closing his eyes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I gave it to myself, therefore it is given. Do not disrespect me, I do not wish to seek pain in this place for either of us, sir"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Witch-doctors were common practice where she had been from and she had hoped to rid herself of the devil inside her mind. When asked, the witch-doctor said that her ailment would not so easily be taken from her. But the witch-doctor took pity on the woman, her soul had qualities that could be redeemed. One day, she may even make a right choice.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You do not feel guilt over taking the lives that were once yours?" He asked, his hand hovering in front of her face. He had his eyes closed, sensing her aura.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Some I am helping, I have walked in their shoes, I would have happily gone. I did, in fact. Others deserve the pain we bring… and sometimes, just sometimes, it is merely for fun" She replied, her honesty as clear as her intentions, "Me and my love, we take great enjoyment from it" She smiled but her expression darkened into an immeasurable sadness as she was asked the one thing that could weaken her. Pain her above all else.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And what of this man? The devil himself would quiver in shame in comparison"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes, he pales. Beelzebub and his kin look to Angelus for inspiration. I wish to cast out the devil's inspiration from my mind" She spoke from within, her strength admirable even to this man. She had been through a lot. He pitied her and so offered his help.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She was offered a healing ceremony, reparations rather than her mind being what it once was. Although the terms were not understood by her – she thought she would still be rid of angelus' hold. The memories. The pain. But the witch-doctor had no power to do that. She was gifted a way to shift her form instead. The pure part, where the soul still lingered allowed her to do this. There was something about her. Something different than other vampires.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You are evil, sweet one, but you will not be forever" the man claimed as she stood up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Do not patronise me, sir!" after she said this, he clapped and she shifted for the first time, becoming a cat was as easy for her as blinking. The cat was still her, so she must still stick to the rules of the night, but it was a breath of fresh air to experience this. When she changed back into herself the witch-doctor spoke again.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You shall take the form of your soul, the goodness that is there allows you this. Do not abuse this gift, you are the only demon that has ever had enough in them… you are remarkable, child"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I am not evil! I am no demon!" She insisted, "Why are the thoughts still inside me? Why are the memories of pain and hate still etched into my skin as a curse? You-you lied to me! You told me I would forget - that the devil would be cast!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I-I did not, I said I would attempt to-" but he didn't finish that sentence. In fact, he never finished a sentence again. She ripped his throat out, her rage and pain indescribable as she screamed in anguish.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She enjoyed the way she could shift, but that was not what she had asked for. The disrespect was icy and she ate him for his trouble, still able to transform on a whim which she did appreciate, but it is not what she needed. She needed… peace.</em>
</p><p>The cat blinked, trying to rid the intrusive memories that had crashed into her mind as she settled on the window ledge. The only thing that could ground her was Spike, but she had to push through this. Push through the memories and focus on the now. On the scene before her. Where a Slayer and a vampire danced around their love.</p><p>Buffy turned, her arms crossed and a look in her eye that told Angel he had better stop avoiding telling her the truth about Candy. About Spike. Buffy hadn't missed that Candy had let slip she had spoken with the vampire. So, Angel sat Buffy down and took a deep, unneeded breath.</p><p>"Medea was a house maid, her and Spike were in love before they were turned. But due to the strict social code of the time, their status meant they couldn't be together… Spike was of a higher class and I think she said something about running away with him" Angel shook his head, the memories not welcome in his mind either, "I don't really know much of how they met, never cared. I just wanted to take her from him"</p><p>He recalled how Spike was besotted with her as human, that they were going to run away together to marry until Drusilla found him crying over the hopelessness of the situation. Spike joined him, Darla and Dru for a time. But he never once stopped looking for Candy. He was out almost every night, his heart ached to see her again. After hearing of Spike's continued obsession after he had been sired, Angelus had an idea.</p><p>"When I knew about the way he still cared for her I uh, took her. Hurt her"</p><p>"Oh God, I don't wanna hear this" Buffy moved her hand that had been resting on Angel's and instead rested on her own thighs. Angel decided to give the edited version, implying what he had done. The torture. The pain he had inflicted on her.</p><p>"She was strong though, she wasn't broken the way that I- he-" Angel couldn't finish the sentence, explain that he had wanted to break her mind. Her spirit. Had wanted to cause Spike so much pain, to turn her from him in the process. Buffy definitely didn't want to hear this but he continued, "Eventually, Spike found her. She was sired. But I, uh, hurt her. In a way that could never be undone. She's very kind though, sometimes I wonder if she doesn't still have at least half a soul on her. She worries about evil and demons despite being one herself, she tries her best to be kind where she can"</p><p>"We can't trust her. She's with Spike" Buffy maintained. She had been touched by the story, had felt badly for Candy. But it didn't change how she was now. A killer. A killer that was ready to be part of any plan Spike asked of her.</p><p>"I know. You can't trust her, but, she isn't necessarily evil…" Angel spoke up, his face twisting as he tried to find the correct words. He felt sorry for her.</p><p>"I saw her draining someone! She can get into my home, Angel!"</p><p>"She wouldn't harm anyone without cause or… hunger" Angel winced, realising that wasn't helpful, he had kept tabs on her through the years. In her age, she had found torturing anyone except men that looked suspiciously like him boring. She ate mostly for food now, rather than playing around with it first – unless it was a request from Spike. She loved to join in with Spike.</p><p>"Oh great, that's better"</p><p>"Let me talk to her, she may be convinced to eat animal"</p><p>"I'm thinkin' we just stake her, or spike and see how we go from there" If Buffy was honest, she was a little jealous of the shared past the woman had with her boyfriend. Even if it was just horrible.</p><p>"Look, Buffy, she would never let you harm him. He's the only man she's ever been able to trust fully, the only person in the entire world she feels safe with. If anything happened to him she wouldn't stop until she killed whoever it was and everyone with even the smallest connection to you. I saw it happen, in Yorkshire, an entire village because an elder was keeping him, torturing him" He warned. People had the tendency to overlook Candy, but Angel realised who he was speaking to, "But she's complicated… she's, uh, kind" He continued, not really sure how to explain the way he felt responsible for her. Angel didn't like Spike, he was happy for the vampire to lose against Buffy, but with Candy it was different. He saw something in her. He wanted to help her.</p><p>"<em>Kind?!</em> Did I tell you she hissed at me?"</p><p>"She doesn't go out of her way to take over the world or kill slayers, she just supports Spike while he does. She enjoys the world too much, but she supports Spike the way he supports her and her many interests. You ever hear of the makeup brand Candy kiss? That was hers for a while"</p><p>"Oh, yeah, that mascara's going in the trash" Buffy said, now understanding why the tagline was "Bring your face back to life"</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>xoxoxo</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>Candy had enough of the conversation, she appreciated Angel's kind words about her but she was a little upset that Buffy hadn't even uttered one word of praise for her. Not even her new pink strapless dress she had worn on her hunt at the Bronze that she had made sure Buffy had seen her in. She wanted Buffy to say something nice but she hadn't. She turned, leaving her vantage point. Still in her cat form. She slipped, agile, back down to the ground and started to leave the property. Buffy and Angel were just kissing now and she didn't find it all that interesting.</p><p>A cat ran through a gap in the fence and straight into Spike. The beautiful white cat wound around his legs before turning back. Revealing Candy, fully clothed looking a little sheepish<em>. Busted.</em></p><p>"Great minds think alike, my love"</p><p>"I thought you were recovering from your bad luck?" He squinted, raising an eyebrow. The last he saw of her she had been hiding under the bed clothes after one of the minions broke a mirror trying to remove it from the lair. She couldn't afford such a curse on her and her love. They had started to move the mirror as none of them had any need for it after all. But Candy was scared, the mirror had broken in her vicinity, that was almost a decade of bad luck.</p><p>"I'm, um, recovered… Funny, I recall you were going to find us someone to eat?" she said, raising her own eyebrow. They both couldn't help smiling at the other. They had both been caught out spying on the slayer. They kissed languidly, pulling the other further into them. They smiled through the kiss, knowing they had both avoided the truth. They couldn't be mad at the other. They just couldn't.</p><p>"Why have you got such an obsession with her, kitten?" Spike asked when they stopped their kiss, his face searching hers.</p><p>"You're one to talk, William. I see the way you stare" He rolled his eyes, this wasn't the first time she had been jealous of the way he paid attention to the Slayer.</p><p>"Yeah, Medea, it's a hunt. You're smelling her hair and asking what bloody lip gloss she uses"</p><p>"It's called bubble gum cherry and it matches my hair, I needed to know. Don't you want me to have pretty lips, Spike?"</p><p>"Love, don't pout. You've done it for centuries now and-"</p><p>"It works every time, my sweet" She smiled into his kiss once more, but Spike had to eventually cut their kiss short. He had a plan for the Slayer. That was why he was here, watching. She looked at him questioningly as he slid a hand along the side of her face that she melted into happily. She knew he wasn't upset with her, he was just focusing on other things.</p><p>"Got a plan, pet, we need to get back before the lackies start thinking for themselves and buggering it all up"</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>xoxoxo</strong>
  </em>
</p><p>The plot was this, kidnap the old man that passes out a lot and lure the Slayer and her little friends into a trap ending in unmentionable death. So, that's what they did.</p><p>Candy had slipped into the school where ethe librarian was working late on some kind of translation for something boring that Candy stole anyway. She distracted him long enough for Spike to come up behind him and hit him over the head.</p><p>"This plan of yours cannot prevail. You are forgetting the one thing that Buffy possesses that you do not. The powers, the forces of good are on her side. Even if she does not realise it, she has answered the call of the righteous" Giles bit through gritted teeth when they were back in their lair. Candy had set up a little corner downstairs away for him to have a cosy little place for the torture. It was downstairs to ensure he was away from the minions. They were torturing him, but even she wouldn't subject him to the torture of having to spend time with their gross minions.</p><p>"Yeah. Right. I think we let that one go to voicemail, mate" Spike muttered, letting go of Giles so that he fell to the floor hard. Candy smiled at Spike's humour and smiled further as he kissed her before he ran up to the stairs to wait for the Slayer's arrival.</p><p>This left Candy with Giles.</p><p>She stared at the man for a while. He smelled nice, like cologne and blood. Spike had managed to split his browbone as he hit him over the head to knock him out. He looked dishevelled, his glasses were askew and his clothing had been slept in as he had been held by them overnight. It was now late afternoon and Spike and Candy had stayed up knowing the little gang of children would have figured it out soon enough. Candy crawled slowly towards him slowly, giving him a blurry view of her cleavage. She was wearing a baby pink shift dress with a matching vintage transparent robe. She stopped close to him, so close he would feel her breath on her face if she breathed. She leaned in, bringing her hands from the floor towards him. He saw how sharp her nails were and he winced visibly as she moved her hands further to his face. She moved around and took the glasses from his face.</p><p>"You should be home soon, dear. I do not believe Spike has a taste for mutton. He's looking for the lamb" She explained dreamily as she cleaned off his glasses using the material from her "Such pretty insides shall be used to stain our walls, but you should be okay" She smiled as if this had been very reassuring. She placed the glasses back on his face carefully although Giles tried to take his chance to headbutt her due to her proximity. She frowned slightly, but guessed she may have taken the chance too. She would give him three chances before she ripped him to shreds. That had been strike one. She was nothing if not fair.</p><p>Eventually she heard a fight break out above and she smiled wide. Spike was getting his way. Buffy had arrived. She started to wish that he won the fight but got rudely interrupted by a human. She looked at him with confusion and interest. He had defied Spike and the minions to get there. With no power and no extra strength.</p><p>"Let go of him!" Xander shouted, pointing at Candy.</p><p>"Okay" Candy shrugged stepping out of Xander's way. She wasn't exactly territorial about the man.</p><p>"Oh, right. I was expectin' a little more of a fight but, thanks" he shrugged as Candy got bored of the boys babbling and skipped up the stairs towards spike. She was closely followed by Xander helping Giles up.</p><p>"Love, why is the hostage walking, well limping, free?"</p><p>"He's boring and his glasses get dirty every few minutes it makes me uncomfortable. I wish to clean them but I do not wish to touch his property again" She explained as if this was enough of an excuse to have let him walk out behind her.</p><p>"I'm bored now, will you make love to me?" She asked breathily as he tried not to shout at her. Buffy snickered at Spike's reaction. Trying to distract him and make them fight amongst themselves.</p><p>"I'm, uh, a little busy pet" he said, an edge to his voice that she recognised.</p><p>"Oh, right" She muttered, swinging a punch towards the Slayer so that they were both fighting her at once. Buffy fought hard, blocking their blows and managing to knock Candy off her feet. Spike fought harder managing to hit her several times in the jaw successively. Candy leapt to her feet and knocked Buffy's feet from under her. They started to have the upper hand and they stood over her, intending to finish the Slayer off together. But their friends suddenly remembered how to fight at the crucial moment and distracted them for long enough that Buffy recovered. The minions started to flee as a lot of them had turned to dust during the fight. The Scoobies grabbed Candy, holding her back as Buffy fought Spike. She thrashed at them but the three of them managed to keep a hold on her. Buffy brutally fought Spike, who started to slow from exhaustion. It seemed to happen so quickly but they had been fighting for a while. Spike was slammed into the ground as Buffy threatened to stake Spike. The hard wooden object digging into his chest.</p><p>"Leave the Hellmouth. Don't come back" Buffy said, looking between Spike and Candy who managed to shrug the group off her.</p><p>"Buffy you cannot-" Giles started, but she had made her decision. Giles knew now more than ever that someone like Candy was too unpredictable. Her mind changed as the wind did. Spike would not concede the fight, he was too proud. Especially not against a slayer. But Candy didn't mind. She nodded her agreement. All she cared about was Spike. They slowly backed off before leaving. Spike was in no condition to fight any more and so he didn't shout at Candy. He understood she tried to preserve their un-lives more than he did. The group all walked off as Candy was tending softly to Spike who was still laying in pain on the floor.</p><p>"A celebratory trip to the Bronze then?" One of the friends asked the Slayer as Candy watched interestedly. She felt… almost jealous. She squinted at the feeling, not quite understanding it yet. The reason she was watching longingly was because she would like a group like that. A group not made up of minions she forced into bathing and wearing wigs. People that she could laugh with and share secrets with. She listened into their conversation as she smiled at her Spike,</p><p>"I gotta get back, Mom's gonna flip if she finds out I'm not tucked up in bed cuddling with my insomnia. So unfair" She muttered, which made Candy's eyes widen. It made her angry, she was ready to run after them. Hell to the temporary truce (yes, she knew her love. It would only ever be temporary. They wouldn't be leaving Sunnydale especially not now). Hell to the fact she could turn to dust. She hated disrespect. It was</p><p>"Do not disrespect your mother!" Candy shouted towards Buffy's back. Mrs Joyce was a very fair mother. Her nose flared and Spike looked on, amused although he took her by her hand and pulled her back down by his side. Candy believed in respecting your parents, so long as they were good parents.</p><p>
  <em>A woman with ash blonde hair that had been done in ringlets stood at the door, and wedding ring on her finger as she moved her hand from the sharp knock she had left on the door. She was wearing a long, grand dress that she had taken the night previous. It was a pale pink that could almost be mistaken for white and her shoes were the finest in the shop. She would never have afforded it in her line of work and she was enjoying the fine feeling of the fabric against her skin. She let herself in, it was her home after all, and invited her husband in.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Marissa?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"My Christian name is of no use to me now, I have renamed myself Medea. I shall live up to the name that I have awarded myself" Candy explained to her parents. She had been missing for a long time since Angelus found her and Spike subsequently married her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"She has been influenced by the devil!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No, father, I have found love. One to cherish and hold for eternity"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"The only love you need is for the Lord, housemaids do not find love they work to provide for the family" Her father warned, they had been in unbelievable poverty and the family's only hope was taking her wages or marrying her off.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Mother, this is Spike" She held his hand to reach for Spike who had been listening and smirking in anticipation for the argument that would ensue. He didn't want his girl to be upset, but he was ready to eat the parents now. They had been talking too long.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Spike? The devil is within you, child"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And also with you" Spike snarled as he hit the father over the head to incapacitate him and went for the mother. Candy beamed, her parents had suffocated her to the point of no return and decided she wished to see at least one of them suffocate before they drained them. Candy took her father and Spike her mother, draining them until there was no more. They had kissed covered in the thick red liquid, making love amongst the massacre.</em>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>A/N: Tw for discussion of torture/harm inflicted on Candy. It's not described much. I would also like to thank bethisabear on ff.net and the lovely anon I received on tumblr for their kind encouragement on this story ! xo</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Chapter 4:</span>
</p><p>Candy had been wandering the street in search of food. Until she became distracted. There had been pennies lined up on the sidewalk leading her towards somewhere she didn't question.</p><p>She stopped to pick each one up with a dreamy smile on her face. She was excited to show Spike each one when she returned to him. He would listen too, watching her enthusiastic face the entire time.</p><p>"See a penny, pick it up and all day you shall have good luck!" she beamed, holding up a penny to the street light to inspect it.</p><p>"Sorry, it's just not your lucky day" Buffy said as she hit her over the head. It had been a trap and Candy fell in a heap on the floor.</p><p>She came to trapped in a cage. In a high school library. Confined in a way that she was too familiar with.</p><p>"Uh, why am I in here? Am I in hell? But I tried to keep the demons at bay, honest I did" she stared at the ceiling, "Th-they're in my mind, see? Nothing a cure can do… I have to fight the demons each day"</p><p>"It's Marissa, right?" Someone asked and it snapped her focus to the group that had captured her.</p><p>"Wrong. My name is Candy, to call me by any other name would not be so sweet" she giggled and Buffy frowned, she could almost see her cheeks begin to go pink as she smiled.</p><p>"Ah, C-candy, you are here because you are a threat" Giles warned, which silenced her laughter.</p><p>"Oh, well, thank you! What a kind compliment, now may I go back home to my Spike? He'll start to worry if I'm not back before the l'heure du crime" she rattled the gate as if she had been put in there by accident.</p><p>"The witching hour? Why would that matter?"</p><p>"It is bad luck of course. I'm already dead, I do not wish to befall any more ill-will from the fates" Candy replied, as if it were obvious. But it made Giles shake his head in confusion. Why would a demon, who had their fate sealed in this way, care about the witching hour?</p><p>As Giles opened his mouth to reply. To study her reply to this, he was interrupted. Thankfully, it turned out as she would have taken offence over him calling her a demon.</p><p>Angel had arrived upon hearing that the plan had gone ahead. He glanced at Candy before turning to Buffy.</p><p>"Angel! What am I doing here?" She called and he turned and walked straight over to her. Buffy pouted, confused. But Angel's duty really was with Candy. He felt he was responsible for her almost in every sense. He created her. He harmed her. And now, he wished to assist her.</p><p>"It's just for a moment, it's just so we can talk to Spike alone" Angel assured her, his hand touching the bars between them. But his action didn't reassure her.</p><p>"T-talk?" Her eyes started to darken, her anger evident on her face. She swung at him through the bars and he moved back.</p><p>"I mean it. Buffy is just going to talk to him, try and relax. Willow likes, uh, this new beauty treatment she wants to discuss with you…" He spoke quickly, making everyone watch their interaction closely. Angel very obviously cared and was trying to bridge the gap between Candy and the others.</p><p>Candy was unconvinced by his words although she calmed down with his words. She did this for preservation. Although she had been pleasant with him she did not trust Angel.</p><p>"Right?" Angel added, giving willow a look to get her to join in. He knew that the one thing Candy really did want was a friend. She loved Spike, she always would, but she longed to have a friend or two. Girls that she could shop with or gossip with. She had never been able to keep friends around long, her and Spike were always moving around.</p><p>"Oh, uh, r-right!"</p><p>"Oh, yes, you have a beautiful complexion, child! Do you wear any make-up?" Willow shook her head, "Tell me, what kind of blood do you use as a face pack?"</p><p>"U-um blood?"</p><p>"Yes, I tried animal for a while but I find virgin's blood a tad better. It brightens me up under the moonlight" She explained quickly before pausing and asking "Do you have a nail file?"</p><p>Willow nodded, handing her Cordelia's through the bars as she tried her best to make something up about her beauty regime and the pair spoke for a while.</p><p>After a while, Willow became a little more comfortable with the vampire. She pulled the chair closer despite Giles' warning noise.</p><p>"How did you meet Spike?" Willow put her hand under her chin and leaned in as Candy smiled dreamily at the question.</p><p>"It was something the motion-pictures would call love at first sight, but it was so much more" she launched into her story, filing her sharp baby pink nails as she spoke candidly to Willow.</p><p>
  <em>On the eve of St. Valentine's Day it is an old custom to pin bay leaves to your pillow, one at each corner and one in the middle. You will then dream of your future lover, or the man you are to marry. Guess who I saw?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>My Spike. That wasn't a title he used then, however. He was my William. He came to me in my dreams and told me where to meet him. He was high society and I was a housemaid. Our relationship was destined to fail but here we are together even now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There was a society ball, one of the families with a title were holding them for those wishing to begin to court. I was waiting staff. Serving drinks and food. It was honest work, better than some had on offer anyway.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>We saw each other from across the room, he saw me. Truly looked upon me where no other guest had. He didn't care about the uniform I was wearing. He walked straight over to me, offering to help with my duties. Such a gentleman, my love.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I had almost fainted that evening, I hadn't eaten in a day, or perhaps two. It was hard work and there wasn't enough food to go around. I went without. Better me than the children.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He held me up, stealing me away so I could have a break. Brought me filling food, and water. We spoke for hours, he told me how little he enjoyed these events. How he wished he could run away from such confines.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I had agreed with the sentiment, timid as I had been. But we grew into a love. A love that was ours. We stole away, our hearts and minds connected. Our affection would surely never cease. He confessed one evening that he wished to marry. Wished to take me away from all that burdened me. Oh, we held such foolish hope.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One day, he disappeared and never returned. He had an awful row with some men from his class. Someone had seen us together, had berated him for the prose he wrote about me. It was quite the scandal and his reputation was in question. He loved me, such a soft nature and my heart had belonged to him since the day I dreamt of him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He had been sired. By Drusilla. He had wanted to be changed so that he could find us a better life. He didn't realise what was to come.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I longed for him, I waited. And one day I saw him again. And I knew he had been looking. I knew he had wanted to come for me sooner. To… to take me away from everythi-</em>
</p><p>Candy had spaced out, her eyes glazed over as she relived the painful memories that always lived beneath the surface. Having to think of them cut like a knife, but she knew she wasn't there anymore. She was away from everything that had happened.</p><p>She was now kneeling in front of Willow, still behind the bars. Willow had been listening intently, knowing her next history project would most likely be on old-English customs considering how interesting they were when Candy spoke of them.</p><p>"Here, child, let me give you this?" Candy whispered, her hand reaching through the bars.</p><p>"W-what is it?" Willow asked before cautiously putting her palm out to receive it.</p><p>"A charm. For good luck" she nodded happily and Willow took it, smiling softly. It was a thin silver bracelet with a four leafed clover charm. Candy had a drawer full of them, she often handed them out to people she deemed worthy. Willow had become fond of the vampire and rushed over her words in her thanks.</p><p>It made Candy smile, the child was sweet. Reminding her of her youngest sister. The one that had died too soon.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>Spike and Buffy were fighting. Neither of them were holding back as they circled each other, taking shots when they could. But Buffy wasn't there for a death match. This was a warning, just like angel had assured Candy.</p><p>"Leave the Hellmouth. You have one chance, leave now" Buffy gave him a final warning. She knew Angel wanted her to spare Candy. Buffy felt so torn.</p><p>"Where is she Slayer, I won't ask again!" Spike ignored Buffy's proposition, "I need Candy here with me, before the witching hour or you're good as dead"</p><p>"Y'know, Angel's doing a great job at keeping her company. She seems happy enough" Buffy taunted, landing another blow against Spike.</p><p>"You fucking bitch! Do you know what he did to her?! Do you care? You say we're evil, which, obviously we are, but Angelus? At least we have some essence of feeling. A way to love, to care. I'm evil, but I know what's what. And what he did to her…" He shook his head, enraged. The pair traded fierce blows.</p><p>"I don't bloody care what you do to me, just don't hurt her" His tone surprised Buffy, he was almost pleading. And then he started to fight harder to make up for it, "Don't let him near her or I will pick off you and everyone you love one-by-one, leaving you until last" He warned. Buffy punched him once more before backing up.</p><p>Angel had left, needing to get some blood before the butcher's closed and Giles didn't wish to sit with Candy. Leaving the library empty until Buffy walked in. For some reason she made her way straight to the vampire, asking to know what happened. What really happened with Angel.</p><p>She would have to know and something inside her told her that she owed it to Candy to hear it from the victim's mouth, so long as she wished to speak about it. Which she did, especially if it meant she could have time with the Slayer.</p><p>
  <em>He took me in, I was on the streets. I walked in there offering my services as a maid. I was told that the house was in need of a housekeeper. I cannot remember where I heard of this now, but it was no doubt some ploy I was too naïve to understand as a human. I was feeble. I only knew of the human world and I was weaken against anything more.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He was too happy to allow me entry and his wife, well I thought she was his wife, was too. I entered his wonderful home, one that I was soon to realise wasn't his in name.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He knew who I was, spoke my name without me having uttered a letter and that's when I tried to run. You should never try to run from him, he enjoys it when you struggle. Do not struggle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He harmed me. Body and spirit. Mind and… whatever vulnerability was left. He kept be in that basement. Of hatred and sodomy. He would speak, never let me rest. A human must rest.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He would-</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I cannot barely. I- I-</em>
</p><p>There was a pause. As Candy wiped the tears from her eyes and hid her face. Crying and showing vulnerability had been beaten out of her long before she had ever met Angelus. She only dared share her heart with Spike now. Her thoughts were his, just as his were reserved for her.</p><p>
  <em>I was chained. Deprived. Such- such creative technique. It almost made me wonder if I was the first. Although of course I was not. He wished me to say something. Words I could never utter. He wished me to be his. Submit to him. Denounce my love for William.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I could not. Would not. I was trapped for an age, not even the powers could tell how long. The dark consumed. Until I saw it…</em>
</p><p>
  <em>One single four leaved clover. I plucked it from where it was growing. It grew for me. I chose to believe in it. My lucky charm.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Soon after, he saved me. My Spike. I kept by the rules, the traditions, and so he came to save me.</em>
</p><p>When Candy finished the story, Buffy had to wipe a stray tear from her eye. Buffy understood, her superstitions had been keeping her going. She kept her belief. her love for Spike never wavering. And it was how she survived.</p><p>"You see, slayer. You must forgive to keep yourself sane, and I managed… just about" She smiled, "But without Spike, I surely would have died. He is my everything"</p><p>"I'm the slayer, I can't just let you keep killing" Buffy said softly, but her resolve was wavering.</p><p>"I am aware of duty. I also do not wish to harm you, it is not my fight" She shook her head, tucking a piece of her pink hair behind her ear as she looked at the ground, "I understand you, sweet child. Feel your restlessness. Responsibility that no other can think to bear"</p><p>Buffy nodded, understanding. She got up, with the key about to let her go. Candy's face started to light up as she appeared to be in Buffy's favour. It was all she could have hoped for. Until Giles intervened, stopping her.</p><p>"Buffy, you cannot let her-her <em>wiles</em> convince you she's anything other than a senseless killer"</p><p>"Angel says she wouldn't-"</p><p>"You are being taken for a fool!"</p><p>"I would not dream of-" Candy tried to interject.</p><p>"I do not care about what you dream of" Giles cut her off.</p><p><em>"Insolence!"</em> She screamed, tugging on the bars. She couldn't stand disrespect. This man, this fool with skin like crepe paper and wisdom she had read in a satirical comic a century ago thought he knew better than she? Thought he had more sense than her? Thought he could demonise her when he in his very essence was the sex that pillaged and raped and-</p><p>No, she would not become rattled by such a man. By such a fool. By such a young, unfeeling man. The children had more sense than he. How insulting. For him to see decades and not to care. To have mercy. Why, he was more demon than she.</p><p>
  <em> <strong>xoxoxo</strong> </em>
</p><p>"Come on evil dead, take it" The boy, Xander said offering her a mug full of a steaming red liquid.</p><p>"Your hospitality is generous despite me being your prisoner" she sipped on it, a little disappointed to note it was animal blood. But she wouldn't say anything against it. She had manners, after all. Candy spoke to them for a while with them seemingly humouring her out of duty before Cordelia perked up at her words.</p><p>"You have money? Why are you trapped in that horrible little cave with those ugly vampires?" Cordy scrunched up her nose.</p><p>"I ask myself this every morning when their stench returns after the hunt" Candy scowled at the idea of the minions she detested so much, "We have money on every continent, the problem is that humanity enjoys development. Expansion and all in the name of progress. Trouble is, it makes finding our riches once again much harder - we cannot use banks, they're not very, ah, vampire friendly" She smiled.</p><p>"Oh, the 60s? My meat is murder phase, I refused to eat humans, how naïve I was!" she chuckled as Cordelia and Xander shared a look.</p><p>"I ate only fish because I heard that they do not have any feelings. My spike was not impressed, they are cold blooded, he says I was a horror for that entire decade… he still stuck by me though, I don't believe we've been without each other for more than a day or two at a time…"</p><p>Cordelia and Xander asked her to elaborate and she happily obliged. As she spoke, she was taken back to that time.</p><p>
  <em>In the 1960s Candy had once again embraced the culture of the time. Much like she attempted to do now she had moved to Sunnydale. She had burned her bra and sported shorter and much darker hair. She had almost burned herself as she did her bra – that was an ugly couple of weeks. Spike tended to her, such a doting husband he was.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>They married in New York that decade, she was running a small ethical co-operative store that only opened at night. She had diverse interests that she could look upon fondly but had so definitely moved along from now. As she always did.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>At the time, a large executive type had tried to patent her store-name. There was an ugly battle, both wanting blood. Some, more literally than others. There was a fierce battle and spike, despite his entire disinterest in the entire situation, stood by Candy the entire time.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He would listen to her ranting. Chip in and reassure her when he could. Happily agreed to eat a few lawyers for her when they disappointed her.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Eventually the businessman had tried to buy the whole street out and build upon it. It was the final straw and Candy had to act.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She dressed up for the occasion, she had thrifted it but it had the elegance of the style she adopted today. It was the beginning of her transition from the style she had enjoyed at the time.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She was wearing a gown. It was light originally but stained red by the end of that night. She had walked into the board meeting. And unleashed her rage on them. On the way they had disrespected her. Had tried to push her out of her shop.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was a massacre. She had been so angry, she hadn't even told Spike about it. She had just acted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Medea, love, we gotta go" Spike had urged, she could still hear it as if it were yesterday. He had been so desperate to protect her. To make sure that nobody would find her. Seek her out and cause her any pain.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He had woken her in the middle of the day, he had made a plan. She hadn't been subtle. She had written a message in blood on the wall. So he had packed up the car and picked her up in her sleepy state, carrying her bridal style so that they could escape.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There were all sorts of demon interests involved in big business – some had a taste for revenge as well as blood. They only returned again in the late 70s when they heard of a slayer. She returned with a new name.</em>
</p><p>"Is that true!?"</p><p>"Oh, yes, I haven't worn a bra since" Xander's eyes went straight to her chest to confirm this.</p><p>"Um, no femin-evil, I meant the total massacre! My father lost relatives in that boardroom!"</p><p>"I recall them being full of fat and lies, I hope your father fares better. Perhaps buy him a gym membership to be cautious?" Candy offered. She snapped Cordelia's nail file in half and smiled at the look or horror on her face. It had horrified her more than the story of her killing an entire boardroom.</p><p>When Buffy and Giles returned, still in a heated debate over what to do with Candy the vampire rose from her seat. She coughed, gaining everyone's attention.</p><p>"I shall leave now" She announced.</p><p>"Don't think for a moment that-"</p><p>"Oh, no. You see, I was entertained for a while. Even, interested in your little set-up, but now I must go…" She nodded with her words. She had quietly been considering her escape. Her options as she distracted them with her stories. People assumed she wasn't intelligent, that Spike just told her what to do. But this wasn't necessarily the case.</p><p>"Pleasure seeing you all again" She dipped her head before changing into a white cat and easily slipping through the bars that once held her.</p><p>She ran away, through the halls and straight to Spike.</p><p>"Spike!"</p><p>"How did you-" he stopped himself. Cat, he decided. Her face was drawn, her eyes glassy and not able to meet his, "what is it love?" he instantly closed the space between them, cradling her head as she clung to him.</p><p>"My past… it's all in my brain. Like reels of film spinning" She used her hand to imitate what was happening in her head, "They asked me, and I offered, but it does not change that it is now all crammed behind my eyes. The memories, the hurt…" She choked out, beginning to sob. He was the only person she would allow herself to be properly vulnerable with.</p><p>"I've got you, pet… I'm here. I'm not goin' anywhere" he confirmed, his arms wrapping around her. He stroked her hair, whispering hushed assurances. He held her close, promising he would never leave her. That she was never alone with him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter five</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span class="u">Chapter Five:</span>
</p>
<p>"No! Spike!" She all but screamed as he and his minions started to leave the warehouse. He was on his way to find the Slayer, another of his plots to kill her.</p>
<p>"Love, what is it? Have you had a vision?"</p>
<p>"I am <em>not</em> Drusilla, do not compare me this way!" Spike tensed slightly, holding back an eye roll as she vented, "She may be your sire but-"</p>
<p>He shook his head as she turned her face away, pouting slightly. He moved his fingers under her chin, directing her to face him again. He pressed a chaste kiss to her lips and gave her a look. She mostly did this for validation. To know that he wouldn't leave her. Wouldn't stray.</p>
<p>"Kitten, you know I never would. I just wanted to reckon if there's something I need to watch for" Spike said softly. Thumb now running over her lips.</p>
<p>Candy didn't get visions, but she was very perceptive. She could sense things in the air. Bad luck or evil as she often put it. Which is why it was so often hard to figure out which of her moods over luck was real or not. Often, she turned out to be right in some way.</p>
<p>"Have you forgotten, my love?" She asked, a little furrow of her brow that he leant in to kiss. Hoping it would dissipate. He hated to see her face contorted into anything but her glowing smile. Her good moods were so much sweeter. He believed she deserved to be happy after everything and he tried every day to give her this.</p>
<p>"It is the… thirteenth Friday of the month" She whispered the word, screwing her eyes shut as if even saying the number should cause her bad luck. She leaned into him, both hands on his chest, palms flat as she looked up at him. Her eyes pleading, "You cannot leave, Spike. The forces will not treat you kindly"</p>
<p>"I'll be careful. You know I will, always come back to you don't I?"</p>
<p>"I just worry so much. The slayer, she is strong and her nails are always so well kept…" Spike raised his eyebrows at her distracted nature as she thought of Buffy but let it slide, "Perhaps you could leave her, just this once…"</p>
<p>"Can't do that, Med, you know that. I promise that I'll be back before light with the slayer's head"</p>
<p>Her face wavered, her worry fluctuating. Spike was smart but he took risks. She moved her hands up his chest, running over his shoulders and looping around his neck. She leant against his chest. Closing her eyes.</p>
<p>He rested against the top of her head inhaling slowly, she smelled of vanilla. The sweetest. God, he adored her. Was near possessed by the affection that he held for her. He knew she cared that was why she got this way. She only wanted him safe.</p>
<p>"Tell you what, you stay in like you planned and I'll bring you back something special, right?"</p>
<p>"A present?" She asked still against his chest but he could hear the smile in her voice. He nodded, having to reluctantly move from where she clung to him. He stepped back slightly, making his way back to the door. She sighed, she wouldn't be able to relax anyway today but even less so now he was gone.</p>
<p>Stepping into the world on this day. It could only end badly, she was sure of it.</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <strong>xoxoxo</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<p>She had hung charms all around her home, trying to ward off the bad luck of the day. There wasn't a space in her room where there wasn't a symbol of luck fastened there. Horse shoes, four-leafed clovers, lucky pennies. No minions were allowed near her less they turn the luck out of her favour. It made her feel better, especially with Spike away. If she did this, hopefully he would be safe too.</p>
<p>Candy was applying and re-applying lipgloss as she lay on her front in bed. Her legs were in the air and crossed slightly, the way she had seen young women do in movies. She wished to be like them, the fuzzy pink slippers on her feet only added to the effect. There was a beauty magazine open in front of her but she wasn't really paying attention. She had curlers in her hair and had fixed a baby pink netting for protection. She had also painted her nails and recategorized all of her items of clothing based on colour co-ordination. She organised all of her accessories too.</p>
<p>She had been trying so desperately to distract herself. But now she was stuck in this deafening silence. The type that descended when she was alone too long. Left with her thoughts.</p>
<p>Now all she could do was lie there, staring into the distance. Trying not to think. She feebly tried to ignore the building fear that something had happened to Spike. That he had befallen the bad luck of Friday the thirteenth. They usually spent the entire twenty-four hours under the sheets together.</p>
<p>She rarely spent a day without him, let alone the most unlucky one. She was so restless, unable to relax. Her thoughts spun almost out of control.</p>
<p>She worried so much about Spike. She couldn't spend a week without him, let alone the rest of her eternity. She cared so much for him, she wished she had someone to talk to about it. To ease her concern for him. To share her worries with. People she could trust, could have around her for support.</p>
<p>Her mind turned to Buffy and her friends. To the way they were always there for each other. She rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. She was frowning.</p>
<p>She knew Spike wished to hurt Buffy and she wouldn't think to discouraging his dreams. His goals. He had stayed beside her despite the way her interests changed so freely.</p>
<p>But somehow, she couldn't get over this fascination she had for Buffy. The way she wished to be friends with her. To speak with her, share secrets. Have the groups attention again. Speak more, the way they had when she was in the library with them.</p>
<p>She was able to make sense of this need to have them as friends because in her mind somewhere deep inside, she had this faith that Buffy wouldn't kill Spike. As if she knew somehow that no matter how tense things became he would end up okay. But she still worried. Of others that may get to him first.</p>
<p>Her mind turned back to Buffy and her friends. Of how they were such a strong team. How they could rely on each other. Have fun together. She wished she was a part of it some days. She thought back to the previous week.</p>
<p>
  <em>Candy had been sat in the adjoining booth. Sipping on a bright pink alcoholic drink that she had found whimsical. She was hidden from the people she had followed.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Her matching coloured hair had been tied into a low ponytail, the scrunchie she had taken from Buffy was now usually on her wrist of looped in her hair. She was wearing large movie-star style sunglasses that hid almost the entire upper portion of her face and her dress was so figure hugging it appeared as if she was barely wearing anything. She had chosen it because she assumed it was closer to what the younger people would be wearing. She stood out, but this had been her idea of a disguise.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She had set out that evening to follow them to the Bronze. She had heard them making plans a few nights previous. They had been giggling and dressed up all pretty. She knew Buffy's scent well and could isolate it as she walked through the Bronze.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She was sipping her drink, smiling softly as she listened to the fun conversation happening behind her. She was imagining she was a part of it. Joining in with their fun. She whispered soft replies, as if she were actually involved.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She snapped at some child that dared speak to her, interrupting her fantasy. She had flashed him her vampire face to get him to leave. He had been blocking her vision from the dancefloor.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She sighed as they slipped away to dance. She watched them, bobbing her head slightly to the music. It was loud and it distracted her from her often intrusive thoughts. Which was something that she appreciated.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>But when she watched them, she wished so badly that she could be part of their group. To have an evening where she could chat about their days. About the little creature of the week that tried to hurt them but they ultimately slayed together. She wished to spend time with them.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>She wanted a connection, so badly. A group of friends. That cared, supported her. A way for her to live a life she had never been allowed to.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <strong>xoxoxo</strong>
  </em>
</p>
<p>Spike lost his fight. Buffy and the others had thinned their group of minions, only a few returned. Candy wouldn't mind so much about that, it would smell much nicer. What she did mind about was the way Spike returned to her. The thirteenth had taken him as her victim.</p>
<p>Spike came back stumbling down to the lower level where he knew Candy would be hiding from the bad luck of the day still. He crashed into the walls on his way down, bumping into furniture. He was near doubled over but he still kept walking trying to get to her.</p>
<p>She gasped as his legs almost buckled under him. She took on his weight helping him towards the bed.</p>
<p>"Who?!" She screamed, shaking with rage at the state he had returned in. she knew she should have never let him go. She knew she should have pleaded.</p>
<p>"Don't mind that, love-" He all but wheezed, collapsing onto their shared bed. He was clutching his side still.</p>
<p>"Spike, tell me who dared-"</p>
<p>"Angel. It was… he was protectin' the slayer" He shook his head at himself. At how it had all turned out. How he had lost again. He wished he had listened to Candy, stayed inside with her like he usually would. Became lost in each other's touch as they were used to.</p>
<p>He should have listened, but he had been too obsessed with the idea of finally killing the slayer.</p>
<p><em>"He!</em> He who created us all! Who turned his back on evil only to create it in the very blood of those he was required to protect!" She screamed, her vampire face shifted, "By my hand I will kill him. I will make him <em>pay</em> for-"</p>
<p>She turned around, starting for the door, her powder blue cloak whipping around her ankles. Despite all he had done to her, him harming Spike was the last straw to her.</p>
<p>"It's the thirteenth still… you don't want to risk it, right pet?" he spoke through gritted teeth at the pain.</p>
<p>She turned back. She saw the look on his face. He wanted her by his side. He needed her. He was barely holding on with the pain.</p>
<p>He just wanted her to be with her, didn't want her to leave. To get hurt herself. Her rage subsided only slightly as she saw his face. She was shaking bit she softened. Wanting to dote on him. To care for him.</p>
<p>She quickly turned to a cabinet. To collect what she needed to assist him. She was by his side immediately, kneeling on the bed beside him. Her eyes shone with concern for him. For his pain.</p>
<p>She passed him a bottle of liquor, knowing him well. He bit the cork off and spat it out. Swigging it as if it were water. He was propped up using his elbows, drinking every so often as she tended to him.</p>
<p>She peeled the t-shirt from the wound so she could inspect it further. It was a deep wound, but with the way he healed it should only be a few days before he began to almost fully heal. It still concerned her though, seeing him this way.</p>
<p>She couldn't lose him. She just couldn't.</p>
<p>She caressed him softly. Laying him back tenderly. Her touch was feather-light and he relaxed even slightly knowing she was there for him. She leaned her face close to his wound, pressing kisses around the deep cut.</p>
<p>He had closed his eyes at her touch. At the way she so unashamedly cared. Doted on him no matter what.</p>
<p>She leaned back, licking her lips from his blood. She began to patch him up. Wincing with him as he hissed every so often. She hated to see him in such pain.</p>
<p>She stitched his wound after cleaning it. Her nimble fingers working on him with such concentration. She was always there to stitch him back together. She had been very into embroidery when she was younger and so transferred these skills to patching up her sweetheart.</p>
<p>Candy lay down beside him when she was finished. Pressing soft kisses to his forehead. Enveloping him in her love. She snaked her hands around him, wishing that she could protect him from everything. She wished she could rid them of any threat. Any bad luck.</p>
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